The Biennale temporary public art exhibition may be over, but one "guest" has asked to stick around a bit longer.
All of the art installations in Richmond were due to be moved on by the end of the year.
But the new owner of the only one which the organizers were able to sell - Water #10, the giant chrome drip on the middle arm of the river at River and Cambie Roads, valued at $450,000 - has asked if he can leave it there for a year or two.
Developer David Chung, who bought the piece for an undisclosed price, has told the city that he won't be ready to relocate the artwork to his new Parc Riveria development on River Drive in north Richmond until 2013.
A report due to go before city council's parks and recreation committee this week recommended allowing the piece to stay, provided the developer handle all associated costs.
"The new owner of the artwork would be responsible for maintenance and insurance coverage for risk of loss, release and indemnity -," said the city's public art planner, Eric Fiss, in his report.
"The developer will be responsible for all costs associated with the removal of the work from this site and subsequent relocation to the development site -"
Fiss said that Water #10 had been well received by the public during its 18-month stay and an extension would "continue to be a benefit to the artistic and cultural enrichment of the city."
When Water #10 is removed, there is no funding in place to replace it, added Fiss, despite the fact that the location is designated by the city as a prime site for signature artwork.
If the parks committee and thereafter city council agreed to allow the piece to remain until 2013, Fiss said that a Biennale education program would then include the artwork, thus allowing Richmond schools to participate.
Despite publicity, good and bad, surrounding the 18-month long Biennale, only Water #10 out of the 15 exhibits in Vancouver and Richmond was sold.
The controversial Lenin/Miss Mao piece at Alderbridge and Elmbridge ways was valued at $700,000 and Wind Waves at Garry Point had a $400,000 price tag.
Organizers of the Biennale also had to cancel their prestigious wrap-up gala auction due to poor ticket sales.
It later issued a statement saying that Vancouver perhaps wasn't the right place for the type of artwork on show, insisting a more international market would have been a better fit.
acampbell@richmond-news.com
